I understand the cognitive dissonance of enforcing seatbelt standards. Seatbelt use and enforcement by drivers, officers and chiefs seems to contradict our need for speed, risk-taking, and even some members’ glorification of firefighter injury and death as heroic. But it’s time we accept that firefighter injury and death related to failure to buckle-up is not just a technical issue; it is a psychological, cultural, adaptive, leadership and moral issue. We can do better!
Chiefs’ worst nightmares
In recent months, I read about the vehicle crash resulting in the occupational fatality of 16-year-old volunteer Firefighter Chevy Gall. Gall was responding in his POV to the fire station for a water rescue alarm, and according to media reports, he was not wearing his seatbelt.
I also read about the eight firefighters from Orange County (California) Fire Authority who were injured in a September 2024 vehicle crash, with rollover, returning from the Airport Fire. The first recommendation for immediate corrective action listed in the OCFA Blue Sheet was to, “Ensure all personnel are wearing seatbelts while vehicles are in motion.”
Both cases must be classified as examples of a fire chief’s worst nightmare.
Commentary and action through the years
When I arrived at FDIC 2025, I read Duncan White’s commentary, “A life-saving imperative: Why firefighters must buckle-up on every occasion – this should be non-negotiable,” in the April 2025 FDIC edition of Fire & Safety Journal Americas and International Fire & Safety Journal (pp. 56-57). Kudos to White and Centurian Media Limited, Greater London, UK, for having the courage to recognize our dysfunctional seatbelt culture and demand change. I challenge the national and international fire service leadership organizations to not only follow White’s lead but also to consider how long we’ve been pushing this message, hoping to make a difference.
My first seatbelt article “To Be or Not to Be a Tattle Tale” from 2003 was the story of my seatbelt epiphany: We are all responsible for our seatbelts. I sent the article to Fire Chief Al Woe, an NFA Executive Fire Officer graduate. Chief Woe’s letter back confirmed that I was on the right track. My article was added to his fire department’s officer promotion assessment process for candidates. The article also led to more fire chiefs joining the seatbelt campaign. I am grateful to all the early adaptors to seatbelt use. Their stories are told in my 2004 article, “How to Get Firefighters to Wear Their Seatbelts.”
Many others, including fire departments and organizations, have been working on seatbelt safety for a long time. The national campaign began with the 2005 occupational death of Firefighter Brian Hunton from Amarillo, Texas — a National Fire Academy graduate — which I wrote about in my article, “We Killed Firefighter Brian Hunton.”
Hunton’s death led to the first National Fire Service Seatbelt Pledge campaign in 2006 — a national, multi-partner effort to eliminate firefighter injuries and line-of-duty deaths that can be prevented by seatbelt use. In 2011, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, through its Everyone Goes Home program, took over leadership of the efforts and provides additional resources and support for the program. Take the pledge today.
Problems persist
Despite this national effort, we still see videos of firefighters responding not wearing their seatbelts as if ignoring safety standard operating procedures and laws makes the fire service heroic.
Additionally, can you imagine my disappointment when I saw that a driver training simulator at FDIC did not require the student to put their seatbelt on when using the training prop. I was so angry, but I did not confront them. Deep down, I did not have the courage of Jesus in the temple expelling the merchants and money changers who engage in commercial activities within the scared grounds. There was no cleansing of the temple; it was just “Crazy Clark” expecting FDIC to follow NFPA safety standards related to training.
Hope for the future
I do have hope. While having an adult beverage at a local Indianapolis tavern, I met a young firefighter, both career and volunteer, who was at FDIC for the first time. He asked for my advice on how he could get the most out of his experience. My reply: “Before I do that let me ask you a question. Do you wear your seatbelt on the fire truck?” He replied, “No, we have to be fast.” After about 5 minutes of me explaining that non-seatbelt use was the result of the nominalization of deviance, he said, “No one ever explained it to me that way.” As a training officer, he was developing a revised recruit training program. I hope he has the courage to change his seatbelt behavior and become a positive seatbelt role model for his fire departments.
Maybe FDIC 2026 will require all students to take the Seatbelt Pledge to attend. At the very least, they can require the driving simulator vendors to buckle the student in the training prop.
We can do better!
WATCH | Defensive driving during emergency response
